The drug liposomal doxorubicin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). A second drug, bevacizumab, is a biologic agent (such as antibodies, interleukins, and vaccines) that stops abnormal blood supply to tumors. Bevacizumab is approved by the FDA, in combination with other drugs, for the treatment of breast cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer.

Researchers are now studying the combination of liposomal doxorubicin with bevacizumab as a novel approach to the treatment of advanced KS. Researches will be measuring KS tumor responses to this combination to determine whether the drugs might have anti-KS activity.

Objectives:

To estimate the overall response rate (ORR) of six cycles of liposomal doxorubicin combined with bevacizumab in patients with advanced KS.

To evaluate the safety of the regimen and to estimate the complete response rate after six cycles, the median number of cycles needed to obtain a partial response, and the 12-month progression-free survival.

Eligibility:

Patients 18 years or older with relatively severe acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related KS or patients with KS unrelated to AIDS or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, whose KS that can be evaluated for potential response to therapy and meet a number of other criteria.

Researchers will conduct the following tests before the start of the study:

Physical examination and a detailed medical history.

A biopsy.

Blood and urine tests.

Treatment will include two phases, an induction phase and a maintenance phase:

Induction phase dose: Intravenous (IV) bevacizumab 15 mg/kg once, followed 7 days later by liposomal doxorubicin mg/m2 and bevacizumab every 3 weeks for six cycles.

Maintenance phase dose: IV bevacizumab every 3 weeks for 11 cycles.

Monitoring will include a review of side effects, physical exam (including blood pressure), and blood and urine samples; following the induction phase, the patient will receive a multi gated acquisition scan and electrocardiography (EKG) to record electrical activity in the heart.

Research tests include blood and saliva samples, additional biopsies (optional), and noninvasive imaging.

Treatment is stopped if any of the following occur: completion of 1 year of therapy, progressive KS, patient preference, or unacceptable toxicity.

Post-treatment evaluations include clinic visits every 3 months or as needed up to 2 years, and blood and saliva samples (for research).

Further study details as provided by Robert Yarchoan, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Primary Outcome Measures:

Overall Response Rate (ORR) of Six Cycles of Liposomal Doxorubicin Combined With Bevacizumab in Patients With Advanced KS. [ Time Frame: 6 cycles, an average of 18 weeks ]

Overall response rate is complete response + clinical complete response + partial response. The overall response rate is the fraction of subjects with an overall response after 6 cycles of liposomal doxorubicin in combination with bevacizumab. Response was assessed by a modification of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Clinical Trial Group Oncology Committee criteria. Complete response is the absence of any detectable residual disease, including tumor-associated edema, persisting for at least 4 weeks. Clinical complete response is the absence of any detectable residual disease, including tumor associated edema. persisting for at least 4 weeks. Partial response is no progressive disease (increase of 25% or more over baseline in the number of lesions and/or size (sum of the products of the largest perpendicular diameters of the marker lesions) & noting that single lesions which split up into 2 or more smaller lesions during the course of treatment will still be counted as 1.

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Complete Response Rate After 6 Cycles of Liposomal Doxorubicin Combined With Bevacizumab [ Time Frame: 6 cycles, an average of 18 weeks ]

Complete response rate is the fraction of subjects with an complete response after 6 cycles of liposomal doxorubicin in combination with bevacizumab. Response was assessed by a modification of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Clinical Trial Group Oncology Committee criteria. Complete response is the absence of any detectable residual disease, including tumor-associated edema, persisting for at least 4 weeks. In patients whom pigmented macular skin lesions persist after apparent complete response, biopsy of at least one representative lesion is required to document the absence of malignant cells. In patients known to have had visceral disease, an attempt at restaging with appropriate endoscopic or radiographic procedures should be made. If such procedures are medically contraindicated, the patient may be classified as having a clinical complete response.

Count of Participants With Serious and Non-serious Adverse Events [ Time Frame: 7 years and 6 months and 21 days ]

Here is the number of participants with serious and non-serious adverse events assessed by the Common Terminology Criteria in Adverse Events (CTCAE v3.0). A non-serious adverse event is any untoward medical occurrence. A serious adverse event is an adverse event or suspected adverse reaction that results in death, a life threatening adverse drug experience, hospitalization, disruption of the ability to conduct normal life functions, congenital anomaly/birth defect or important medical events that jeopardize the patient or subject and may require medical or surgical intervention to prevent one of the previous outcomes mentioned.

Median Number of Cycles Need to Obtain a Partial Response [ Time Frame: 6 cycles, an average of 18 weeks ]

Response was assessed by a modification of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Clinical Trial Group Oncology Committee criteria. Partial response is no progressive disease (increase of 25% or more over baseline in the number of lesions and/or size (sum of the products of the largest perpendicular diameters of the marker lesions) and noting that single lesions which split up into 2 or more smaller lesions during the course of treatment will still be counted as 1; no new lesions occurring in previously uninvolved areas of the body; no new visceral sites of involvement or the appearance or worsening of tumor-associated edema or effusions and a 50% or greater decrease in the number and/or size of previously existing lesions lasting for at least 4 weeks or complete flattening of at least 50% of all previously raised lesions (i.e., 50% of all previously nodular or plaque-like lesions become macular) lasting for at least 4 weeks.

Participants who survived and were progression free for 12 months. Response was assessed by a modification of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Clinical Trial Group Oncology Committee criteria. Progressive disease is an increase of 25% or more over baseline in the number of lesions and/or size (sum of the products of the largest perpendicular diameters) of the marker lesions or a change in character from macular to plaque-like or nodular of at least 25% of the lesions or new visceral sites of involvement or progression of visceral disease or the development of new or increasing tumor-associated edema or effusion that lasts at least 1 week and interfered with the patient's normal activities.

Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status less than or equal to 2

Life expectancy > 6 months

At least one of the following indications for therapy:

Pulmonary involvement

Visceral involvement

Pain

Edema

Substantial lymph node involvement

Ulcerating lesions

Decreased range of joint motion due to KS

Multiple lesions not amenable to local therapy

Significant psychological impact leading to social withdrawal

Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection must be willing to comply with a regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Patients may have received any number of prior therapies, including monotherapy with liposomal doxorubicin or bevacizumab

Blood pressure

Systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 150 mm/Hg

Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) < 90 mm/Hg

Patients receiving anti-hypertensive medicines must be on a stable regimen for at least 1 month

Ejection fraction (EF) > 50% by multigated acquisition scan (MUGA)

The following hematologic parameters:

Hemoglobin > 9 g/dl

White blood cell (WBC) > 1000/mm(3)

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 750/mm(3)

Platelets > 75,000/mm(3)

Prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) less than or equal to 120% of control, unless patient has the presence of a lupus anticoagulant

The following hepatic parameters:

Bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) unless the patient is receiving protease inhibitor therapy (i.e. indinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir, and atazanavir) known to be associated with increased bilirubin: in this case total bilirubin less than or equal to 7.5 mg/dl and the direct fraction is less than or equal to 0.7 mg/dl.

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) less than or equal to 2.5 times the upper limit of normal

Either serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dL or measured creatinine clearance greater than or equal to 60 mL/min

Past or present history of malignant tumors other than KS unless: a) in a complete remission for greater than or equal to 1 year from the time a response was first documented; b) completely resected basal cell carcinoma; or c) in situ squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix or anus

Severe or life-threatening infection within 2 weeks of entry onto the study.

Known procoagulant disorder including prothrombin gene mutation 20210, antithrombin III deficiency, protein c deficiency, protein S deficiency and antiphospholipid syndrome but not including heterozygosity for the Factor V Leiden mutation or the presence of a lupus anticoagulant in the absence of other criteria for the antiphospholipid syndrome.

Known bleeding diathesis.

History of severe gastrointestinal bleeding within 6 months. Patients with gastrointestinal blood loss due to KS may be included.

Hemoptysis within 4 weeks.

Substantial central nervous system (CNS) disease including.

History of CNS bleeding.

Mass lesions in the brain.

Uncontrolled seizure disorder.

Recent history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (e.g. within the past 6 months).

Proteinuria > 500 mg/24hrs.

Patients with any other abnormality that would be scored as a grade 3 or greater toxicity, except:

Known hypersensitivity to bevacizumab, Chinese hamster ovary cell products, or other recombinant human or humanized antibodies.

Any other condition, including the presence of laboratory abnormalities, which in the opinion of the Principal Investigator or Lead Associate Investigator, places the subject at unacceptable risk if there were to participate in the study or confounds the ability to interpret data from the study.

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Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00923936